this is her fifth world cup, and she has a lot of experience playing big matches. she used to be a striker. now she is the playmaker. she is the central part of the team. she has this good sense of looking at offensive and defensive plays. she knows how the flow is going. she knows when to attack, she knows when to defend, she knows when it's a chance to score. and when she makes that judgment, she runs straight for it so she has a feel for the game, and that's what's extraordinary about her. sh is what has made japan the team it is today. >> reporter: japan will face the united states, the world's number one ranked squad in the final. the u.s. has made it to the semifinals in all five women's world cup tourneys and has won the championship twice. japan and the u.s. have played each other 25 times in the past with 22 u.s. wins and three draws. in other words, japan has never won. what about this time? >> translator: well, the u.s. squad is not going to easily present an opportunity to attack overall, how to build up the offensive. however you build up the offensive